Tales of Team EMLD
by TheRedMenace
Summary: A new student arrives at Beacon the same year as team RWBY. This new arrival has her own plans to become a huntress. Will her and her team become well known heroes, or will they tear each other apart as they fade into obscurity?
1. Chapter 1

Hey, just wanted to say thank you for reading this. While this may be my first story I've published here I have always been big into writing. Saying that however I know that I'm far from perfect. Just wanted to say that I'm really excited about this story and let me know what you think. Please don't hold back, if it's bad I want to know why it's bad. Either way I just wanted to thank you in advance for reading this story, TheRedMenace out!

Chapter 1

The large beautiful expanse of Beacon stretched out before her. The illustrious halls stood for years training all manner of hunters and huntresses to face the creatures of Grimm. And now, finally, she could add her name to the list of many that had learned at the academy. The name Ember Flame will go down in this very academy. Her pure excitement knew no bounds, her blue eyes shining with determination. She had black, long hair that went down past her shoulders. Today she came dressed in her usual black dress that had small trims of orange all around. Her weapon and any other supplies were safely tucked away in her bag. While her face only showed small amounts of excitement, within she was nearly jumping off the walls at the idea of attending Beacon.

"Calm down." She thought "Your wits and intelligence got you here. You can't let your emotions get in the way of that."

After finally taking in the beauty of Beacon she moved through the crowd of new arrivals, ready for orientation. Walking through she saw all sorts of different people. She saw a girl that looked to be dressed in Roman armor with red hair. She briefly wondered who it was before finally putting a name to the face.

"That's Pyrrha Nikos!" she thought, remembering all the accolades that Pyrrha had achieved. Ember continued searching the crowds not noticing many of her old friends from Signal. Unfortunately she mostly made friends with underclassmen who wouldn't be here until next year. The only person she could really find was Yang Xiao Long, and they didn't know each other very well.

"Looking for someone?" A voice asked. Ember turned around to see a girl looking at her. The girl had dark, almost purple hair that was cut rather short. She had medieval armor covering all except her head. Even though the armor appeared heavy she had almost no problem moving around in it. Ember looked her in the eye and noticed her bright green eyes.

"Just trying to find a friend" she answered "I can't really find anyone that I know." At this the girl stuck out her hand.

"Lavender, Lavender Light" the girl introduced. Ember took the hand and shook it saying,

"Ember Flame" Ember said "So do you know anyone here"

"I know a lot of people" Lavender said, she then looked down and sighed. "Although not one of them is happy to know me"

"Really?" Ember asked "Why is that?"

"Back at my old school I was not very… liked." She answered. Ember, now suspicious of this girl, asked

"What do you mean by that? How did you treat people?" Lavender looked rather distraught and said

"Well it wasn't that I acted rude to anyone… it was just that they didn't exactly like me." Lavender shuddered still remembering all the chants of "Freak!" and "Evil!" that she suffered through every day. Ember could sense that this was a sensitive topic and moved to cheer her up.

"Well you kind of know me now" Ember smiled "And I still don't regret knowing you." Lavender smiled and finally looked up. Ember couldn't quite explain it but she had a feeling that this girl could make a valuable ally, and even a great friend. "Well I trusted my instincts before" she thought "and it got me here." Ember decided to move away from this subject and asked

"So what's your weapon?" Ember remembered the hours she put into forging her weapon at Signal. That process had given her a great appreciation for the amount of work put into weapons. Lavender, slightly taken aback, stammered

"It's- Well- it's" she caught her wits and decided it would be better to just show it. Lavender clicked a button on her armor and a clasp around the back released. She reached back and pulled out a what looked like a dual edged sword. There was a long handle in the middle and two blades pointing out on the sides. The blades were a beautiful polished steel that with intricate markings on them. Ember looked on in awe and asked

"So what can it do?" At this Lavender disconnected the two blades and held two separate swords in her hands. She then flourished those blades around her in an elegant and swift movement until finally reconnecting them and returning it to the holster in her armor.

"Sorry," she said "I've just always been a bit of a show off when it comes to my weapon." Ember laughed and gave her a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm rather funny about weapons as well"

"Well what about your own weapon? You think you can match mine?" she said with a smug look on her face. Ember laughed and said with a dramatic flair

"Oh you think that I wouldn't have a marvelous weapon such as yours? Well then, behold!" Ember held her hands out and showed her gloves towards Lavender. They were a dark black and hints of orange to match her outfit, and on the top held sharp claw like blades.

"So they're just gloves with claws?" Lavender asked. Ember calmly looked into her eyes and said,

"I think you'll find they're far more than that. Behold once more!" Then the blades on her gloves shot into the air. The blades flew through the air connected by thin razor wire to the gloves. While they were in the air Ember began directing the blades, extending the wire forward and allowing her to aim her blades wherever she wished. Finally she moved her thumb, which was the only one that had no blade or wire, and clicked the palm of the glove. Near instantly the wires retracted and the blades locked right back into place.

Lavender could only stare in shock at the complexity of the weapon. Ember let out a soft laugh and said

"So what do you think?" Lavender took a second to compose her thoughts before answering

"Those are absolutely amazing! Where in the world did you get a weapon like that?" Ember blushed at the compliment and told her

"I had to make it myself." Lavender was even more surprised at that. She knew that some schools make students forge their own weapons but this was crazy.

"So then you actually made that! How in the world did you do that?"

"It took weeks of getting all the intricacies just right but I managed." The way Ember said it as though it was nothing made Lavender even more curious about where she learned everything. The two girls continued to chat about all different things. The subjects of their old schools, teachers, and expectations of Beacon were at the forefront of their conversations. After talking for a short time they both felt that they had made a great new friend. Ember decided to ask

"So how's your day been going?" Lavender once again sighed and said

"Not so well, the same people from school are still causing some problems." She then perked up and looked at Ember "But it's good to meet someone nice for a change." Ember was happy to hear that she had helped brighten the day for someone as skilled and kind as Lavender.

"Hey don't worry, I'm sure your day will get even better." Ember encouraged

"Maybe, I just hope no one is having as bad a first day as me." Just then they heard a loud explosion coming from where the air ships dropped off the students. They could see the obvious markings of Dust from the ice and lightning in the explosion. Lavender freaked out at the sight of the disaster while Ember calmly considered what could have happened.

"Someone may be hurt!" Lavender yelled "We have to go help them!" She started to take off before Ember grabbed her shoulder and told her

"It looks like some sort of Dust problem. Honestly the staff of this school should be better equipped to handle the problem than we are. Besides, judging from the size of the explosion it probably didn't harm anyone anyway." Lavender visibly relaxed and turned around. They both agreed to let the staff handle the problem of the explosion and reported it to the nearest staff member they saw. They then decided that they should really head to wherever they were supposed to go for orientation.

Once they entered the hall for orientation Ember took another look around the room. She saw Pyrrha again and noticed she was looking at someone. Ember followed her gaze and saw a clumsy looking boy with blonde hair. She also saw Yang once again waving someone over. The person who she was calling finally made it over and Ember nearly screamed in surprise.

"That-That's Ruby Rose!" she told Lavender "What is she doing here? She still had two years left at Signal!" Ember distinctly remembered seeing Ruby walk into all sorts of lower classes with other people. She also recalled that she was one of the people that Mr. Qrow had trained personally. The slight reddish black hair and the scythe/rifle attested to that fact. Ruby Rose was attending Beacon, and two years ahead of schedule.

"Maybe she got moved up. She must be impressive to have skipped two years." Ember continued to watch them and saw that a girl with White hair in a ponytail was standing right behind Ruby. This time it was Lavender's turn to nearly panic out of surprise. "That's Weiss Schnee! Heir to the Schnee Dust company! I never thought that she would be attending Beacon!" They saw Weiss shout something at Ruby before Ruby jumped into Yang's arms.

"That's right I forgot they were sisters" Ember said. The two continued to watch the ordeal continue on for another minute or so before finally deciding to pay attention to the stage. A man with gray hair and dark spectacles came onto the wore a dark green jacket with all sorts of shades of green underneath. Next to him was the woman from the plane, Glynda Goodwitch. The man who the two girls knew was the headmaster, Professor Ozpin, prepared the microphone and began his speech.

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge - to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He then walked off the stage putting pressure on his cane to help him walk off. After walking off Ms. Goodwitch walked up to the microphone and said

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." With that she left as well. Lavender turned to Ember and said

"That was a pretty strange speech." Ember nodded and said

"While I agree he seemed strangely off, his speech was actually really smart. We can gain as much knowledge as we want, however it won't be worth anything if we don't have the will or ability to use it."

"I never thought of it like that." They both moved on into the ballroom in order to find somewhere to sleep. Professor Ozpin's speech still fresh in their minds and they prepared themselves to spend their first night at Beacon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In the ballroom everyone had set up sleeping bags on different patches of floor. Ember found a good spot for both her and Lavender to spend the night and perhaps continue with their little chat. Ember looked around and saw all sorts of different people. She saw Yang and Ruby laying right by each other, she saw that Weiss was down a little further off, and she saw another girl by the wall with a candle reading a book. The girl had black hair and amber, cat-like eyes. At the very top of her head was a big black bow standing straight up.

"Funny," Ember thought "from here that bow looks kind of like a set of cat ears." As they were laying down a boy walked over to them. He was a little short and rather scraggly. He had bright blonde hair and a short goat-like beard. At the top of his head Ember noticed that he had a small set of goat horns poking out through his mess of hair. "He's a Faunus" Ember thought, with a little bit of anger rising in her. The boy spoke up with a bit of a Spanish accent and said,

"Hello, is this spot taken?" He pointed to the empty area near the two of them. Ember was about to lie and say it was when Lavender piped up and answered,

"No. No one is sleeping there." Ember cursed her friend's honesty and the boy called over a friend that was also looking for a place to sleep. The girl was a lot taller than the Faunus and had even longer hair than Ember. Her hair was a dark chestnut that, while long, was extremely well kept and straight. She moved over to join her friend by the two of them and they both rolled their sleeping bags down. Lavender, still being kind, asked,

"So what are your names?" The boy looked up, evidently surprised that a stranger would just talk to him out of the blue. However he was still the first to answer and said

"I'm Dorado Mortega" The girl took her turn and said, in a bit of a high pitched yet brief voice,

"Name's Mikado." She didn't seem to want to give them her last name so Ember didn't feel the need to ask it. Lavender began making friendly conversation with the two of them. Ember was dreading talking to these two late into the night. She looked around again and saw Yang and Ruby fighting in front of the girl with the bow. As they were fighting they saw that Weiss girl come up to them and yell. Her voice carried easily amongst the room and Ember could hear every word of it.

"What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

As the argument went on Ember saw the bow girl getting more and more annoyed. The frustration with the people around her mirroring her own. Until eventually she blew out the candle removing the only source of light left in the room. Ember saw her chance and used this darkness to avoid conversation with the Faunus. She knew that it was wrong to think this way but every time she saw a Faunus she couldn't help but think about, Him. She sighed and decided to get some sleep for tomorrow.

The next day went by rather quickly. Ember heard people all talking about teams and wondered how that would be handled. She sincerely hoped she would be on a team with someone like Lavender. She already knew the girl and saw how skillfully she could handle her weapon. Unfortunately she had no idea how the teams would be picked and therefore had to hope that she could adapt quickly enough to get a good team. All new arrivals were told to head to the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest for their initiation.

On the cliffs they once again saw both Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch. They were all directed to stand on the different pads that were spread out by their feet. Ozpin then looked at them and said

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Glynda Goodwitch went on right after him and said,

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... **today**." Ember hoped that they would at least tell them how the teams were assigned rather than just hope they figured it out. Ozpin began once again and told them,

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ember let out a short gasp in surprise and turned to Lavender. She seemed just as nervous but put on an obviously fake smile and gave Ember a thumbs up. She returned the gesture before returning her attention to Ozpin. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you **will** die. You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately."

He finished and added "Are there any questions?" The clumsy blonde guy from the other day said

"Yeah, um, sir" However he was cut off by Ozpin who said

"**Good**! Now, take your positions." Next to them Ember saw students start to get launched off the pads into the forest. However the blonde kid seemed completely oblivious.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a , this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?" he said.

"No. You will be falling" Ozpin calmly answered. Just then Ember felt herself get shot off of the platform into the forest. Behind her she heard a scream of

"Birdy no!" As she plummeted into the forest she knew that she had to find a way to stop herself. She quickly devised a plan and shot her blades into a nearby tree. She used her momentum to bring herself into a controlled swing and as she reached the end of her pendulum motion she pulled the blades back and shot her other blades into yet another tree, using this to decrease her speed she eventually got into one more pendulum swing. At the slow end of the arc she jumped off and flipped herself upwards before landing on her feet.

Lavender flew through the air trying to think of how to land. She nearly panicked trying to think of a way to slow her descent. An idea came to her just as she was passing a huge tree. She pulled out her dual edged sword and stabbed one end deep into the trunk. Using her momentum she flipped around her sword handle, using these flips to gain more control over her speed she hopped off. Pulling the blade out with her she landed on the ground, ready to find the relics.

Dorado found himself falling before almost any other student. He was dressed in light, street clothes and a dark black jacket. He came prepared for this sort of situation and reached into the pockets on his jacket. Pulling out a small, green, cylinder he aimed his shot. As he was getting close to the ground he threw the cylinder downwards. It exploded into a huge burst of wind as the Dust inside went to works. The gust slowed him down considerably and allowed him to lose momentum. Finally he tucked into a roll transferring the rest of his speed and getting up into a run.

Mikado came dressed in military style combat gear. In the air she focused intently on the forest ahead of her. Rather than pull out her weapon she scanned the area for a pool of water. Spotting a lake she then pulled out a set of yellow mechanical daggers. She swiped the daggers around causing the blades to fly into the hilt and the back end of the hilt to extend. Finally the daggers became a set of yellow, magnum-like pistols. Aiming in the exact opposite direction of the lake she fired the guns repeatedly, using the recoil to change her falling path to the lake. She dove into the lake with a huge splash and resurfaced only moments later.

Mikado swam to the edge of the lake and jumped out. She knew she saw Dorado fall somewhere nearby. So she set out in that direction to find him. As she walked through the forest she couldn't shake the feeling that something was following her. The distinct sound of growling came from all directions around her. She pulled out her guns and readied herself for a fight. Out from the bushes leapt a pitch black lion Grimm. It was almost completely back, however rather than the normal lion mane its mane was a gray natural armor that had the blood red lines of tracing around it. Mikado recalled her studies and remembered the creature was called a Jiangdong. The creature was backed up by a pack of 15 more Jiangdong that jumped out and surrounded her. They started to circle her, almost daring her to make the first move. Suddenly one of them lunged at her trying to latch onto her neck. She reacted as quick as lightning and shot it straight in the chest. It was launched back and slammed into a nearby tree. Two more took this as their cue to attack and came at her from opposite sides. She turned and shot both of them sending them back as well. One managed to sneak up on her as she was concentrating on the other two and jumped on top of her. She was almost pinned to the ground but she switched her guns back into daggers and just barely stabbed the Grimm. Fighting even further the pack continued methodically attacking, and trying to exhaust their prey. Three of them were in the middle of lunging when she saw them. It was too late to react and she readied herself for their razor sharp claws.

Just then three objects flew past her and hit the Jiangdong right in the face. One exploded into a burst of fire while the other was frozen in ice. The final one couldn't be seen because it was sent flying into the air by a huge gust of wind. Dorado jumped out with small Dust bombs ready in his hands. He threw more fire bombs at the other Grimm which blew them back. Realising that they were outmatched the pack retreated and started running away from the two fighters. Turning around he looked straight into his old friends eyes and made sure she was okay. When he was sure she was fine he smiled and said,

"Ozpin's rules, I guess we're a team now." Mikado let out an overly-dramatic sigh and said,

"Oh no! Anyone but you!" They both laughed and moved on.

Meanwhile in another area of the forest Lavender was facing her own set of Grimm. She was being attacked by a group of Ursai. She was easily handling the first one however she was getting into huge trouble when 3 more showed up to attack her. She had already disconnected her swords and was using the greater mobility the twin blades provided. But every time she fought two the third would get a swipe in without her being able to stop him. One of them knocked her into a tree just in the distance. Cornered, and having almost no options she began to think,

"If I can't stop the third one, I'll never beat them" An idea struck her that could get the third one to stop fighting, "No!" she thought "I can't do that! I don't care if I die, I never want anyone to see that!" Once again she remembered all the constant taunts and hatred from everyone she's ever met. She picked up her swords and charged back in. Once again she was caught holding two of them back while the last Ursa made a swipe at her face. However this time its swing didn't connect. The Ursa screamed in pain and Lavender saw daggers in the back of its arm connected to a thin, durable, razor wire. The daggers drew the Ursa back as they retracted, until finally popping out of the Ursa and eliciting a screech of pain from it. Even more daggers flew into the Ursa tearing through it, some wound around him and flew into his chest while others hit him in the back. The Ursa fell to the ground with a roar and stopped moving. Ember jumped out with her weapons ready and Lavender pushed the Ursai away from her. Ember moved in close and stood back to back with Lavender before saying,

"I've been looking everywhere for you. Glad I found you in time" Lavender sighed in relief knowing that she had someone that could help her.

"So, you want me to take one, you take the other?" Lavender asked

"Better plan, we take them both out at once. Just trust me, I know what to do." Ember jumped into the air and shot her claws into the chest of the two Ursai surrounding them. She pulled them inwards towards her. Surprised at such a tactic, the Ursai were unable to fight back in time and were dragged forward with the blades. "Now!" Ember yelled. Lavender understood and held both her swords into different directions, pointing directly at the Ursai. They both got pulled onto the blades and were skewered through their chests. Lavender pulled the blades out and both the Ursai slumped to the ground next to their companion. Lavender was just about to thank her friend before she felt hands grabbing the sides of her head. She felt herself being forced around until staring directly into Ember's eyes with her face only inches away. Lavender blushed, wondering what it was that Ember was doing. Just then the hands around her head released their grip and Ember smiled at her and said,

"There, now we're teammates. Just wanted to make sure that it was official." Lavender was still blushing at that and stammered out an agreement. Ember softly laughed at her friend before once again adopting her more serious look. "Come on, those artifacts won't find themselves."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The rest of the journey to the temple was uneventful for the two partners. Ember had carefully navigated them through to ensure they wouldn't get lost. Her sense of direction was impeccable and the pair found themselves at the northern end of the forest. They saw a variety of white and black chess pieces laid out on pedestals in front of them. Not a single one was taken so Ember assumed that they had gotten there first. She moved forward checking the area for any sort of traps, not putting it past someone as enigmatic as Ozpin to leave one extra test for them to overcome. Once she was sure that there was no danger in it she turned to Lavender and asked,

"Which one do you think we should take?" Lavender looked at the pieces for a moment before picking up the black knight piece. Ember was surprised at how quick she was at picking it and asked "Why the black knight?" Lavender looked up and said,

"My parents used to tell me stories all about knights. It's why I wear this kind of armor." She then blushed and looked down and said "Plus it… goes with your outfit." Ember just grinned and said

"Then let's head back." The bushes next to them rustled and both partners drew their weapons. They both looked around cautiously looking for whatever threat might come for them next. Suddenly Dorado and Mikado appeared out of the bushes in front of them with their own weapons drawn. They all looked at each other for a minute before lowering their weapons. Dorado was the first to speak up,

"Well hello you two, small forest isn't it?" Mikado had a bit of an annoyed look on her face and said,

"Come on Doro we've got a mission. We need to find the relics." The Faunus blushed upon being called by his childhood nickname and started to walk forward. Ember decided to be polite and pointed behind her before saying,

"Relics are over there" The two friends thanked her and went towards the relics. They both spent some time observing the chess pieces, evidently trying to make a decision. Ember had a feeling of dread as she thought of what these pieces might be used for. "Please don't pick the black knight, Please not the black night please…" she thought. But her hopes were immediately dashed when Mikado picked up the black knight and said,

"Perfect, now how do we get back?" Ember was still angry that, out of all the pieces there, they would pick the other black knight. She didn't want to hurt Lavender's feelings immediately after saying she could choose the piece and doubted that the other two would just change pieces because of some girl they barely knew asking them. She still held out hope that she would be wrong about everything and that the relics wouldn't really mean anything. Even though she felt uncomfortable being near Dorado, she wouldn't be so horrible as to leave two people in the middle of a Grimm infested forest.

"There is a quick path we can take back." Ember told them, remembering the path she saw in the air "There's a gigantic lake with a sort of natural bridge across it. Just follow us and we can lead you back there." Before they set out they saw a huge amount of smoke coming from off in the distance.

"What is that?" Dorado wondered aloud.

"Probably some irresponsible team setting off a forest fire" Mikado answered. The group set out following Ember's lead through the forest. They all made excellent time until coming across a gigantic lake. They could barely see the other edge from where they were standing. Unfortunately the natural bridge that Ember had mentioned was nowhere to be seen. There were only a few small masses of land in the middle of the lake.

"I thought I saw a land bridge." she said. "Now how are we going to cross?" Dorado moved up past her and pulled out a few light blue, diamond shaped, objects from his pocket.

"Leave this to me" he said. He threw the pieces down onto the water in front of them, causing it to freeze and build a makeshift ice bridge. They all began to cross this bridge and made it to the land mass in the middle before the lake exploded behind them. Their ice bridge shattered in the explosion and it was a mad scramble to get to the islands in the middle. Behind them they saw the source of the "explosion". A huge shark Grimm had slammed its head into the bridge and partially surfaced out of the lake. The normal black of Grimm was almost nowhere to be seen. Instead its body was completely encased in a gray natural armor. The only part left uncovered were its blood red eyes which had small holes in the armor to allow it to see.

"A Kamohoal, in this forest!" Ember shouted in surprise. Before anyone could do anything the creature resubmerged itself in the water. They stood around on the islands looking below for any sign of the creature. Dorado threw his ice bombs again and said,

"If we're slow and subtle it might not see us and we can leave." Ember looked at him and yelled

"Are you stupid! We weren't exactly loud when we first crossed. What makes you think this will make any difference!?"

"It was just a suggestion! You don't have to bite my head off!" Dorado yelled back.

"The Grimm will! Just shut up with your dumb ideas! If we step on that ice we'll be destroyed!"

As if on cue the Grimm resurfaced and once again smashed through the ice that had formed. Only this time they were ready for him. Dorado began throwing his fire bombs at the beast while Mikado shot at it. The blows hit the Grimm's armor and didn't even scratch it. However they did manage to make the Kamohoal roar out in anger. Rather than submerge to it's previous depth again it went just below the surface and began to jet towards the students. The island shook from the impact that it made and the two attackers were thrown off balance. Mikado nearly fell off into the lake before being saved by Lavender. Ember cast her daggers into the water, trying to hit the Kamohoal. Only one of her daggers connected and managed to lodge itself into the armor. She was nearly pulled off when the beast went back to the depth of the lake but managed to retract her blade just in time. The four of them were right back where they started, the creature wouldn't let them leave and it couldn't hurt them unless they tried. Ember looked at the four of them, understanding the importance of their lives, and moved to Dorado.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you." she apologised, sucking up her pride and hatred she said "I think I know how to get us out of this, I need all of you to help."

The beast swam around its prey from below. Constantly keeping an eye on them, just waiting for them, daring them to try and escape. The four nodded in agreement and Dorado began the first part of his plan. He pulled out a jagged white object and threw it at the surface of the lake. The bomb exploded in a burst of electricity travelling all throughout the lake. They heard the beast scream in agony once again. He threw another ice bomb and made a floating chunk a few feet away from them. The Kamohoal burst through the ice again and Mikado started shooting at its body. The hits still just bounced off his armor and only egged the beast into another run at the islands. This time however, Ember aimed her daggers and shot the beast on its approach, leading her shot to hook it. The threads connected and managed to get into the Kamohoal's armor. She tried as hard as she could to pull the beast in and was stuck in a tug of war with it. She dug her feet into the ground and pulled with all her might but still found herself being slowly dragged towards the edge. The other three picked up on this and started to help pull it with her. With the four of them all pulling and putting all of their strength and Aura into it they were able to to get half of the creature's head onto the bank of the island while the other half was still in the water.

"Now!" Ember shouted. Dorado let go and threw his ice bombs against the creature. He continually layered on as much ice as he could, trapping it with its head outside of the water. Without the usual force behind it the Kamohoal had no way of breaking this thick layer of ice. Trapped like this Lavender pulled out both of her swords and jumped into the air. She slammed down, stabbing her swords into the eyes of the monster and twisted them in even further. The Kamohoal thrashed in pain trying to get its attacker away from it until it finally let out its last roar and stopped moving. The dead creature slowly floated away, still connected to a huge chunk of ice. The four of them had a collective sigh of relief and sat down for a moment's rest. Dorado got a bit of a scared look on his face and stared at the rest of them.

"Um, guys" he said nervously "I don't have any ice bombs left." He had completely forgotten to save some for crossing the lake. Ember spoke up and said

"Well then, looks like we'll be swimming." The four of them stood silent for a moment before breaking out into laughter. Finding it funny that they were so focused on fighting that no one had thought of the aftermath. They were all just relieved to be alive after facing such a monstrous Grimm.

Later they returned to the cliff and handed in their relics. They were all moved to a huge auditorium where Ozpin stood on stage in front of a large screen. He had been calling the names of all those that went through the forest and assigning their team. Just as Ember feared he was assigning them by the type of piece they had retrieved and Ember knew she would be forced to work with Dorado as a teammate. Eventually Ozpin announced to the cheering room,

"Ember Flame. Dorado Mortega. Lavender Light. Mikado." Ember was surprised that not even Ozpin would say her last name. She shook it off however and walked onstage with the rest of the her team. "The four of you retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team EMLD" The head of Beacon had pronounced their team name as emerald and Ember saw images of the four of them forming forming the acronym EMLD on the screen behind him. Ozpin continued to the final part of his speech and said " Led by… Ember Flame!" The crowd cheered out again and Ember saw Lavender once again giving her a silent thumbs up. However this time neither of them was nervous and Ember returned the favor with a proud grin on her face.

The ceremony continued on with Ozpin naming teams such as CRDL led by a boy named Cardin. Afterwards he brought out a team that consisted of the blonde boy from the cliff, Pyrrha, a guy in a green sort of suit with slight bits of pink on it, and an orange haired girl with a pink skirt. Ozpin announced their names,

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR." Ember made note of their names before Ozpin continued "Led by... Jaune Arc!" Ember gasped in shock. Was that clumsy looking Jaune Arc really a better leader than Pyrrha Nikos? She was actually rather impressed that her judgement of him was completely wrong. She looked forward to seeing someone better than than Pyrrha in action. Pyrrha then gave Jaune a friendly little punch to the shoulder but ended up causing Jaune to fall over. While everyone else laughed Ember merely looked even more confused,

"Maybe he's not so great after all" she thought. Ozpin went on to call what Ember could only assume was the last team.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY." Ember made another note, this time about the bow girl's name. Ember was actually rather impressed to see that Ruby had survived a trip through the Emerald Forest at her age. Ozpin went on to finish his announcement "Led by… Ruby Rose!" Ember was completely awestruck that Ruby was made the leader of her team.

"I can't believe someone so young has both been accepted to Beacon and become a team leader." she thought. Ember looked up to see Ruby getting hugged by her sister. A tear formed at the corner of her eye, "Never take her for granite Ruby." Ember thought as she wiped it away.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year." Ozpin finished.

"They certainly are" Ember thought. She looked around her and smiled knowing that Lavender would be there to watch her back, a smile that dropped when she looked over further to see Dorado. The usual wave of anger washed over her and she muttered under her breath "Gonna have to get used to him." The night went on and Ember put away her anger. Ozpin's words about the year echoed in their heads. They had no idea how true those words would be.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

On a long road a little girl walks a path she's walked for months. Right before heading to a left turn she pauses in front of one of the many different shops and stores that stood on this road. The girl had short black hair that was carefully cut and bright blue eyes that held a look of pure innocence. She was in a bright orange dress and looked to be only be 6 years old. She reached for the door and began to pull, barely able to get it open, she managed to pull the large glass door to the shop. The sign outside read "Ice's Quick Ice Cream" and she always visited this store before heading home. The bell rang, signaling that a customer was entering. She looked over behind the main counter and saw a man with salt and pepper hair in a white suit. He looked up and smiled at one of his "regulars" walking in.

"Well hello Ember." He said "Back again are ya?" Ember smiled back and answered

"Yeah! I always come here Mr. Ice!"

"You do?" he said in mock confusion "I never noticed." Ember laughed knowing that Mr. Ice was just joking. "So why are you here?" He asked, still playing with the little girl.

"You know why! I wanna see my big brother!" She jumped up and down to try to add emphasis.

"Oh of course. Let me get him for you." He turned around and called "Crim! Crim! Crimson! Someone's here to see you!"

A young man stepped out from the back room in his work uniform. His hair was a dark red and it was longer than his little sister's. The only real big family resemblance came in the blue eyes that they both share. He looked at Ember and immediately smiled.

"This little lady says she knows you." Mr. Ice said

"She does? What's your name then?" Ember rolled her eyes and said

"Ember! Your sister!" Crimson only laughed and rustled her hair.

"Does mom know you're here?"

"Of course she does I always come here."

"Oh that's right!" He slapped himself in the face as if he was so foolish for forgetting. "Well let me get your usual then" He walked behind the counter and grabbed a big waffle cone from the dispenser. Putting it under the ice cream machine he filled it halfway with vanilla and and put chocolate sprinkles in and then filled the rest with chocolate with regular sprinkles. The whole time Ember watched with wide eyes waiting for her treat. He handed the ice cream to her and said "One Ember special, for my favorite sister. On me." She started getting to work on her ice cream while Crimson started talking to her, just asking about her day and what she learned at school. "So Em" he started "You have any idea what you wanna be when you grow up?" She stopped for a second and proudly declared

"An ice cream man!" Crimson just started laughing at his little sister's comment until he looked out the front store window. Five figures were moving towards the store wearing large coats with hoods that covered their faces. Both Crimson and Mr. Ice had a look of worry on their face as they saw the men approach. Crimson turned to Ember and told her in a quick, hushed, voice,

"Em, listen to me. This is important. I want you to go into the back and hide there. No matter what don't come out unless someone you know comes to get you. I mean it! No matter what you hear you can't come out without someone trustworthy getting you. Promise me that Ember, promise me" Ember was shaking in fear and answered,

"Alright I promise."

"Good. Ember, I love you sis."

"I l-love you too big brother" She turned and ran into the back of the store and found a place to hide. Mr. Ice locked the door behind her and they both prepared for the men. The leader of the group opened the front door and walked in. Mr. Ice spoke up first,

"Hello sir, what can I do for you?" The man laughed at him and said in a gravelly voice,

"Just checking on the local businesses. After all who knows what might happen. Some group of Faunus might just wander in and cause trouble."

"I don't know what you want, but I can assure you we serve everyone here regardless of race." Mr. Ice said.

"Oh I know. But sometimes you have to send a… message even to the people who already understand. Let everyone know you won't be pushed around." Crimson got an angry look on his face and said,

"Why don't you go with the White Fang then, send people a message without violence." Once again the man laughed and said,

"Those fools, they don't understand that you won't get anywhere with peaceful protest. We aim to send a different message. We did warn you to close, but now I guess I have to deal with you myself."

Ember sat in the corner of the back room curled up and crying. She could hear everything that was being said and heard the other men walk into the store. The sounds of a struggle could be heard and screams from both Mr. Ice and her brother rang throughout the store. Then she heard the leader speak again and he said,

"Alright boys, let's tear this place down." The sound of breaking windows and smashed tables were heard all throughout the street. Eventually the smashing stopped and she heard the bell ring from the men leaving. She peeked through the door and saw no one in the store. Police sirens rang out as a bunch of patrol cars began pulling up to the street. She knew she promised her brother but the men were gone and the police were here so she figured they were trustworthy enough. Opening the door she finally got a full look at the store.

All of the windows were smashed and glass was scattered all over the floor. They had smashed all sorts of chairs and tables into the counter and machines. At the very center of the destruction she saw Crimson and Mr. Ice lying face down on the floor and not moving. She rushed to her brother and started shaking him.

The police finally made it to the store after getting directions from the neighbors. They saw the place completely destroyed and a little girl inside, crying and shaking a young man.

"Crim… Crim… get up please." her sobs were easily heard between every word. "please get up… Crimson… don't go… please… don't go… I love you… please!"

In a dorm room at Beacon, Ember nearly bolted upright out of her bed.

"Another nightmare" she thought. Tears began to slide down her face as she thought back to that horrible day. She couldn't help but cry every time she thought of Crimson.

"You ok?" a voice asked in the room. She turned over to see Mikado sitting in her bed, lightly sharpening her daggers.

"What are you doing up?" Ember asked.

"I don't sleep" She stopped sharpening her weapons and looked at Ember. "You ok?" she asked again. Ember nodded and said

"It was just a nightmare. A sad one but just a nightmare." With that she let Mikado get back to her weapon and went to sleep.

The sun rose up, bathing Beacon in a brilliant light as Team EMLD awoke to their first day as an official team. Ember looked around to find everyone else was already awake. Their wide room was only a bare minimum with four beds all set up with a small amount of space between them. Lavender was busy making her bead, Mikado was cleaning and polishing her weapons at a table in the corner, and Dorado was on his bed tinkering with his Dust bombs. The previous anger she felt towards him had amplified after last night. Lavender was the first to notice that their leader was awake and said,

"Good morning. You might want to get ready, we all have class in thirty minutes. It looks like Ozpin gave us all the same classes. Up first we have… Professor Goodwitch."

They all took their time to get dressed in their school uniforms and made their way to Goodwitch's class. Inside they saw the large stage built at the very front of the room with seats built in a U around it. The common school layout seemed completely innocuous to all the students arriving, however they had no clue that the stage would be used for more than just Goodwitch's lesson. After a few minutes everyone was seated and professor Goodwitch walked into the room.

"Good morning class. As you all should know I am Professor Glynda Goodwitch." she started "I am responsible for teaching you the ins and outs of combat and the different things related to said combat. However that is my only job." Her face adopted a far more stern look "I am not responsible for whether or not you learn it. I can drone on about how much you need to listen but I will not. If you so choose not to listen to me then I will choose not to aid you and to merely teach you. If you do choose to listen then I will help you to the best of my own ability. And finally if you engage in any form of misconduct," She brought her riding crop down on the front row desks making an audible and intimidating smack. "I will have absolutely no mercy or tolerance for you" The class was silent, nearly scared out of their wits by such a stern teacher. "Now we will begin. Can anyone tell me what Aura is?" Ember raised her hand and began her answer,

"Aura is a manifestation of our very souls. It can protect us, heal us, and even augment our own strength. Every creature with a soul has it, which is why Grimm do not."

"Correct Ms. Flame. Thank you." The class continued on in this manner with Goodwitch explaining things such as Aura, Dust, and Semblances. Most of the class understood the basics of all of these but she still felt that a review would be helpful. Not only that but many of them didn't know the more advanced natures of some of these things and how they relate to combat. Eventually she stopped her teachings and looked at the clock. "Now that class is nearly over I would like to move on to demonstrating what we just learned. Tell me would two volunteers step up for a quick duel?" The room was silent for a moment before Ember's hand once again raised into the air. "Ms. Flame, please step up to the stage. Who else?" No one seemed ready to fight so early at after their journeys through the forest and so not a single hand went up. "Very well I will choose for you." she looked around the room and saw Dorado barely paying attention and pointed her crop directly at him. "You young man! You will be the one to duel Ms. Flame!"

They both got up and proceeded onto the stage which doubled as an impromptu arena. Both teammates readied their weapons and stood waiting for Goodwitch to start the match.

"He doesn't stand a chance. I hope this hurts." Ember thought to herself. The lights around them dimmed until only the stage was lit. The signal to begin was given and both fighters hopped away from each other. Ember shot the threads on her left hand straight at Dorado. He swiftly jumped over them and prepared a fire bomb in his pocket. Before he had a chance to throw it a second set of blades got launched straight up at him. The second set of threads connected and he was thrown back by the impact. His Aura blocked the strike but he was still sent to the ground. He rolled to the side just in time to avoid the daggers being sent down over him. In his roll he threw a fire bomb directly at her. She in turn rolled forward to dodge the explosion. Dorado then threw an ice bomb in front of her, it worked perfectly and Ember slipped on the layer of ice she was rolling into. She tumbled forward and nearly fell off of the stage. Regaining her balance she slammed her fist on the ground in anger and leapt back up. Dorado had already thrown a wind bomb and she was nearly caught up in the gigantic gust. Her daggers retracted back into her gloves and she charged straight at him. Put into a close combat fight her blades were much more effective than Dorado's bombs. Many of her blows were connecting and slowly whittling away at Dorado's Aura. He finally managed to get a kick to her chest and, using her moment of surprise, cartwheeled away. He pulled out a fire bomb and threw it at Ember, hoping the explosion would knock her out. The bomb went soaring and right before it could hit her she reached out and pulled it right from the air. She held a look of smug satisfaction on her face when she said,

"You think my weapon wouldn't be able to handle Dust? Ha, idiot." Dorado smiled in turn and pulled out a slightly bigger device than what he normally used. It was a thin cylinder with a two switches in the middle of it. He clicked the top button on the device and responded

"You think my weapon would be that simple? Ha, idiot." The irony wasn't lost on Ember as she quickly turned to stare at the bomb in her hand. It made a small click sound and exploded in her hand, launching her straight out of the arena. The lights turned back on and Goodwitch returned to the stage.

"As you can see Dorado has won the match. In some duel types being sent outside of the arena constitutes a defeat. Ms. Flame, take care not to gloat so much in battle, had you thrown his weapon back at him immediately you might have caught him off guard. Either way we are just about out of time for today. Make sure you all read up on the workings of Dust before next class. Class dismissed." Students began to pile out of the classroom after Goodwitch had left, but Ember still sat on the ground off of the stage in disbelief. Dorado walked over to her and offered his hand to help her up.

"Hey sorry about the whole 'idiot' comment. Couldn't help myself in battle." he said. Ember slapped his hand away from her and started to get up.

"Don't talk to me like we're friends" she told him. He looked at her slightly confused and asked,

"What's your problem with me? As far as I can tell I haven't done anything." She looked at him with hate burning in her eyes and told him,

"My problem with you is your entire, idiotic, horrible, destructive, cruel race! You and all the Faunus do nothing but cause problems! You hurt people, steal, destroy, and kill!" Dorado's look of confusion shifted to one of anger as he yelled back,

"My race! Is that what this is about! Sorry, I had no idea our team leader was a bigot! I never did anything but exist! Is that my fault!"

"You and all you other Faunus do nothing but hurt and kill! The White Fang, the war, and all your other criminals! You're all a bunch of murdering, thieving, vandals!"

"Yes because I've obviously committed hundreds of crimes!" He pointed to his horns "These must mean I'm a criminal and nothing else! How dare you!"

"Shut up! All of you are like this, you stupid, moronic, can muncher!" The team went silent at Ember's outburst. Dorado looked her in the eye, turned around, and walked out of the classroom. Before he walked out the door he stopped and said,

"I don't know why you think like this but it's not right. I don't care what happened to you, it doesn't excuse racism." And with that he walked out, leaving the rest of the team standing there.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The rest of the team stood there for a minute in silence. Mikado turned to Ember with anger in her eyes and yelled,

"Don't you ever say those things to my friend! He did absolutely nothing to you! He's dealt with this crap his entire life, he doesn't need it from his own damn team!" She finished her piece and stormed out. Lavender merely looked down and continued to stand in silence. Ember turned to her and said,

"If you don't think what I said was right then just go." Lavender avoided eye contact and walked out as well, leaving Ember in the middle of an empty classroom completely alone.

In front of the store the police sat with a little girl in their back seat, still crying her eyes out. The two men in the store were officially declared dead before the ambulance could even reach them. One of the policemen took this time to talk with Ember about what had happened. She explained as much as she could until she got to the point where she heard her brother's scream and broke down once again. The police asked if she got a good look at the men, unfortunately for them she never got much of a look on any of them. The only thing she could tell him was the voice of one of the men and the fact that the five of them were Faunus. The police had already made a call to Ember's parents who both rushed to the scene immediately. Ember's mother had short, well cut, black hair and the same bright blue eyes as her children. Her father had dark red hair that was also short, and green eyes. They arrived just as the police had finished talking with Ember and they both ran to her. Her mother embraced her with tears in her eyes, continually asking if she was ok. They had already carted away both of the bodies and were in the middle of laying down an outline of the scene.

"Who did this officer?" Her father asked. The man that was asking Ember questions turned to him and answered,

"We aren't allowed to reveal anything about our investigation, sorry sir." Ember's father had a look of fury on his face as he yelled,

"He was my son! Do you have any idea what that means to me?" He calmed himself down before continuing "Please… just please, tell us." The officer looked down to himself and sighed.

"We don't have many leads yet. However a group of five Faunus have been constantly going around smashing stores. We think this may have been them."

The feeling of being completely alone hit Ember once again as she walked the halls of Beacon. It was the same dark and cold feeling that washed over her after her brother's death. No one to go to, no one to talk to, she was just left alone. Behind her back she could already start to hear the whispers of those who had heard her and Dorado's argument. Even now the very thought of what those Faunus did would cause her to become enraged beyond most reasonable thought. However now she just felt sad, both Dorado and Mikado hated her guts, and even Lavender had left after she was given the chance. It never felt right knowing that five random Faunus had decided to completely destroy her life.

"Why shouldn't I hate them" she would always think. "They stole the greatest thing in my life from me without any reason."

The funeral was small, limited to only family members and very close friends. Inside the coffin was the only brother Ember had, and now he was gone. The tears began anew as she saw her family members each go up to talk about Crimson, and everything he did. The final one up there was Ember's own father,

"Crimson was… well he was the greatest son a man could ask for. He was always smiling and he was always ready to help. I… I never thought anyone could do this. I can't think of a single person he didn't like. I just… I…" Ember saw tears stream down her father's eyes before he couldn't keep going and went back to his seat. She watched as the coffin was lowered into the grave and her father, and those with him, began to fill in the grave, crying as she truly realised just how lonely things would be without Crimson.

Ember returned to her room and found that not a single member of her team had returned. The entire room was completely silent with it still being in the condition they had left it when they first went to class. Ember took the time to unpack her things and set them up around the room. Reaching under her bed she grasped her large bag full of everything she thought she needed from home. The first thing she pulled out was a framed picture of Crimson and her, both with smiles on their face, in front of Ember's old school. It was her first day and he made sure to come with her so she wouldn't be scared. A slight smile spread across her face as she thought back to that day, a smile that was replaced as she once again thought about Dorado.

She continued through her things before she left. However as she was heading to the door she saw a newspaper that Dorado had left on the table. One of the stories he had circled in red marker. It had a headline of "White Fang Destroys Dust Store". Next to it Ember saw he wrote a small note that read, "Violent terrorists!" Ember felt a slight bit of appreciation that a Faunus could at least understand the violence their people cause. Said appreciation left the minute she remembered how Dorado had defended his people and all the atrocities they have committed.

She was home sitting in front of her mother. Ember had been pulled out of school for the day and her mother had picked her up. Ember looked up into her mother's eyes which looked down at her in anger. She readied herself for the usual scolding that came from her mother. She had gotten into a fight with another girl at school. Ember had yelled at her and insulted her for being a Faunus.

"Ember, why would you say things like that?" Her mother asked. "Your teacher says you were bullying another girl in your class." Ember looked up and answered in anger,

"Because I hate them!" Her mother was taken aback by this outburst and asked,

"What do you mean 'them'?" Ember had an expression of anger and once again shouted,

"Those Faunus! They're all stupid and mean!" Her mother sat down next to Ember and wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulder. She kept her voice at a calm level and said,

"Ember, we've talked about this. You can't just go blaming all of them for… for…" tears began to build up in her eyes. She calmed herself and continued "for... things they weren't a part of." Ember, still not satisfied, yelled,

"But it's their fault! They took Crimson away! I never want to see them again!"

No matter how much they talked Ember was unable to be convinced out of her anger at the Faunus. Her parents had hoped that with time she would get over her feelings towards them and just left her alone. However all this did was allow her to continually build upon her hatred and blame. Rather than slowly fade as time passed it continued to increase further and further.

Ember was suddenly struck with an idea. She knew it was a long shot but she decided that it was worth it.

"I need to ask Professor Ozpin for a new team. Then I won't have to deal with any of them." She immediately left her room and went towards Ozpin's office. In the hall however she ran into him herself. He remained as calm as ever as she approached him and held his usual coffee in his hand.

"Professor" she said "I want a new team." Ozpin showed no hint of surprise at her and instead calmly answered,

"Team assignments are final, Ms. Flame, although if I might ask, why would you want a new team? Your current team worked rather well in the forest." She stood for a moment in silence and answered,

"It's because of Him" He pondered this for a moment and said,

"By 'Him' do you mean Mr. Mortega, or do you perhaps mean another, more personal, person that you've been thinking of?" he sighed and said "Ms. Flame, you have held onto your own hatred for far too long, you continue to blame an entire race for the problems caused by a select few." Ember had heard this speech before and was once again dreading having to be lectured about her actions. "You have been hurt in the past, this I understand is why you are holding such a grudge. However, I want you to think, if only for a moment, are your actions really the best way to honor the memory of the deceased?" Ember thought back to her brother and how he would always smile and greet anyone he saw on the street, the way he would always talk about equality, and the kindness he would show to others no matter their situation. He never held any sort of grudge, she couldn't remember anytime that her brother had stayed angry with anyone. "If you wish to live on in hatred then there is truly nothing I, nor anyone else, can do. But if you are willing to let go of this anger, this cruelty, then you might find that people, whether Faunus or human, can surprise you. That boy has been through as much hardship as you to get to where he is today. He is ready to take orders and fight for himself and those around him. He is willing to take the first step to bettering himself and his team. The real question is, are you?" She looked down and asked,

"But, what is the first step?" Ozpin only smiled and said one simple word,

"Acceptance."

Ember ran through the halls looking for one of her teammates. Eventually she found Mikado standing against the hall with an annoyed look on her face. Ember went up to her and asked,

"Where's Dorado?" Mikado looked at her in rage and stoically said,

"Leave him alone already. He didn't do anyth-" Ember cut her off and said,

"Look I know alright. I just want to talk to him." Mikado's look shifted from anger to surprise and she answered,

"He went back to our room a little bit ago, said he had to work on something." With that Ember dashed off back to her own dorm room. Once she reached it she slowly slid the door open and walked in calling out for Dorado. He was sitting over at the table once again tinkering with his Dust bombs. As she walked in he looked up and said,

"Oh, it's you." Ember felt the same anger that had been there her whole life. However this time she did everything to calm herself down and talk through this stubborn pride. She sat down across from him and began,

"Dorado I wanted to say I am truly, honestly, sincerely, sorry. I've held this anger from such a young age and I know that doesn't excuse anything that I said." She could feel her tears welling up again, "I know that you haven't done anything wrong. No one has but me." He looked at her with both surprise and genuine concern. "I know that I am absolutely wrong, and I…" she swallowed back her pride, "I always have been. And I know that I can't get rid of this in a day, and I don't know how long it will take, but I want you to know that I will do everything I possibly can to stop treating you, and every Faunus, as criminals. So please, I am so… so sorry Dorado." With that she sat back against her chair on the verge of tears and waited for his answer. Dorado smiled and told her,

"Thank you, thank you for that. It means a lot to hear that from you, and I will never hold something like that against you." Ember sighed in relief. It was then that she noticed the different blueprints laid out across the table.

"So what are you working on?"

"I'm trying to get these stupid things to combine the effects of Dust. I want to be able to get them working together but they just won't burst like the normal ones." He groaned.

"Have you tried keeping them separated within the bomb until it bursts and having them mix in the burst?" His eyes widened and he nearly jumped out of his chair.

"Of course! If I do that the effects will both go off and still create the explosion they usually do. That's brilliant!" They both smiled and Ember moved to help him construct the new form of bomb they had thought up.

In her home Ember sat in front of both her parents. She had just told them that she decided exactly what she wanted to do in life. Taking in a deep breath she announced,

"I'm going to be a Huntress." both her parents nearly jumped in surprise,

"Really?" her dad said "You want to fight monsters?" Her mother went next and said,

"That's amazing honey! I just know you'll be great. But, what made you want to become a Huntress?" She looked down and thought about her brother again. She got a look of inspiration in her eyes and proclaimed,

"I want to protect people who can't protect themselves." She turned and thought "I don't want anyone to have to lose someone they love."


End file.
